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William J. Taggart was appointed on June 1, 2009, by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as the chief operating officer for the Office of Federal Student Aid. FSA is the federal government's first Performance-Based Organization established as part of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to modernize the delivery of student financial assistance and improve service to millions of students and the postsecondary institutions they attend. PBOs create incentives for high performance and accountability for results while allowing more flexibility to promote innovation and increased efficiency.

Taggart has more than 24 years of business management experience with Fortune 50 U.S. companies. Before joining the Education Department, Taggart was president and chief executive officer of Veritas One Consulting, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in strategy execution planning headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.

Prior to his work with Veritas One, Taggart served from 2004 to 2008, as chief operating officer of corporate and investment banking at Wachovia Corporation in Charlotte. With Wachovia since 2000, Taggart served in a number of leadership capacities, including head of client services, president of Info-One, and chief administrative officer for Wachovia Insurance.

Taggart worked for First Union Corporation in Charlotte, from 1995 to 2000, serving as managing director of strategic support services for the automation and operations division. From 1984 to 1995, Taggart worked in various technology, consulting and marketing roles for International Business Machines (IBM).

Taggart received a master's degree from Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Howard University.